Enthusiasm

I guess we all have them – those days when we just overdo it, and then at the end of them we are a bundle of exhaustion, curled up on the living room couch, watching Samantha Who? and wishing we had had a little less fun.

Well, today was such a day. I went in the morning and “surfed” for 2 hours – and then went again this evening. After an hour I was beat, and I had barely been able to catch a wave (three of them, to be precise). I surfed for another 30 minutes and then I took my favorite to date, the last wave, the one that carries you all the way to the beach.

I was getting changed when this minivan placed itself right beside me. A guy opened the window and asked if I was leaving. He was very excited, a bright grin on his face. I told him it was going to take me a couple of minutes, so he moved on. After two minutes he was back, parking himself right next to me just as I was trying to get out of the wetsuit. I was a little miffed – having bystanders stare at you while you drop the suit is not fun.

I ignored him, even when he asked me again if I was leaving. Then he moved forward and tried to park between the (super-annoying giant SUV from Arizona that had taken up two spots in residence) and my car. It was way too tight. I was cursing him, hoping he wouldn’t ding my car. There are way too many douchebags at that break.

I dropped the jammers and rubbed myself dry. I looked on, and I saw a wheelchair coming out of the minivan. Then the guy came out and sat on it. He was on fire – so excited about being there, so enthusiastic. He asked me how the waves were, and I told him they were OK, but that he should have been there in the morning. He told me he had heard, and we chatted a little more. Then he opened the trunk and started rubbing the plank of his board, and you could hear the wax getting a workout.

When I moved out, he pushed himself to the side and parked himself beside the car. He looked at me all the time, with this infinitely large grin, barely able to contain his glee at being finally able to take a little time to get into the water. His wife and daughter were coming out of the car from the other side.

I may be excited about surfing, but this guy is a true inspiration. I thought the dolphins were the best thing about surfing, but seeing someone that is so excited about it, so boundlessly happy about getting into the water, well… that’s really priceless.